Red Ribbon Army War
The Red Ribbon Army War is the conflict waged by Goku (with the help of the Turtle School students and Android 8, Bora and Upa) against the titular Red Ribbon Army. The war took place on many regions across the Earth, getting many individuals involved in the conflict as well. Background Lead by the diminutive Commander Red, the Red Ribbon Army is a paramilitary force known across the world, which was so powerful and had such a massive influence that Earth's Military couldn't stand a chance against it. The army is shown to be well equipped with everything from different types of military vehicles (tanks, planes, subs, etc.) to Battle Jackets and powerful Androids like Major Metallitron and Android 8. Additionally, it has several capable personnel within its ranks such as Colonel Silver, Ninja Murasaki, the psychic soldier General Blue, and the army's brilliant scientist, Dr. Gero, the latter of whom acted as the unofficial leader. Red also implied that, besides military minds, he also made sure to surround himself with the best in every conceivable industry to ensure their dominion. During the army's heyday before it came in conflict with the Saiyan Goku, the son of Red Ribbon Army scientist Dr. Gero was a high-ranking military officer within the army, who was unfortunately killed in action by an enemy sniper's bullet. Despite the loss of his son, Dr. Gero continued to work within the army that his son had given his life for. At some point, the army managed to capture an enemy base where Dr. Gero took a doll that had adorn the enemy HQ as a trophy. Both his son and this doll would later be used by Gero as the design templates for Android 16 and Android 19. Eventually, Commander Red and the army became aware of the existence of the 7 Dragon Balls and began hunting them under the pretense of using them to rule the world. However, in truth, Commander Red sought them to grant his own selfish wish of making himself "as tall as a mountain." Little did he know that his desire to obtain the Dragon Balls would lead the army into a confrontation with its most dangerous foe, a young Saiyan boy who would stand up to the army and its vast military might. Plot Beginning the Search Goku goes on a journey to find his Grandpa Gohan's four-star Dragon Ball. Emperor Pilaf and his two cronies, Shu and Mai, are now searching for the Dragon Balls once again using Pilaf's Flying Fortress as their new base since Goku destroyed their previous palace when he transformed into a Great Ape. However, a mysterious military force known as the Red Ribbon Army is also looking for the Dragon Balls. Coincidentally (and unbeknownst to each other) Goku, Emperor Pilaf, and the mystery force are all in the same location, an Antique Store Town which seems to be modeled after a Mexican town. They locate the Six-Star Dragon Ball that is in a bird's nest near a store that sells fake Dragon Balls, with Colonel Silver killing the con-artist shopkeeper after the latter's attempt at conning them with a fake Dragon Ball failed. The bird flies away, carrying the ball, and is eaten by a pterodactyl. The chase then leads them to a village where Ox-King and Chi-Chi are now living. It is here that Goku and Chi-Chi are engaged to be married (though Goku is unaware of the true meaning of marriage). The wedding does not go as planned because Emperor Pilaf has Shu impersonate Goku in order to retrieve a Dragon Ball; he is successfully able to get the Dragon Ball inside the pterodactyl that Ox-King captured as food for the wedding. Colonel Silver proves his worth to the Red Ribbon Army by dodging a cat sicced on him by Red with his reflexes, as well as boxing four boxers and exercising, before being deployed towards a nearby village that contained a Dragon Ball. At this point, the mysterious army also invades the village. Goku then gets involved in the fight between Emperor Pilaf and the mystery force. Eventually, Emperor Pilaf falls prey to the Red Ribbon Army after parachuting out of his aerial base in order to avoid Goku. He is forced to hand over the Dragon Ball to the army, led by none other than Colonel Silver. Colonel Silver's reputation as a boxing expert precedes him as well as his ruthlessness to anyone who stands in his way. It seems the Red Ribbon Army wants to find the Dragon Balls as a quick means of gaining world domination. Goku vs. Colonel Silver Goku, who does not know about the Red Ribbon Army, leaves, promising to marry Chi-Chi (he still thinks that words like marriage, wedding and bride all have to do with food.) He goes to the jungle, and hangs out with some monkeys. Colonel Silver and his men arrive and start tearing down the jungle, but Goku beats them. The next day, he quickly acquires a second Dragon Ball and rides on his Flying Nimbus only to have it blown to smithereens by a Rocket Launcher wielded by Colonel Silver, the leader of the Red Ribbon Army detachment. Goku becomes frustrated and angry as Colonel Silver tries to grab his Dragon Ball. He beats up the unprepared Colonel Silver. Silver is later "taken care of" by Commander Red, the leader of the Red Ribbon Army, for his failure when he returns to the Red Ribbon Army Headquarters. Once he returns to base to report, Commander Red tells the guards to restrain him. Colonel Silver calmly walks out the door, shutting it behind him, and is chased by the guards (who had at some point fired the weapons at Silver after he left). The viewers never find out if he lives or not. However, it is implied that Silver is gunned down because of his failure (he is executed in the manga). Assault on Muscle Tower After that, Goku, using transportation that he looted from Colonel Silver's capsule box, crash-lands near a snowy village called Jingle Village. There, a girl named Suno brings him to her house and defrosts him. It seems that Suno only lives with her mother, but then we learn that her father and the other men were forced to help the Red Ribbon Army find the Dragon Ball known to exist in that area - the Red Ribbon Army had too few a number of soldiers in that district. Just then, two Red Ribbon Army soldiers bust in and begin to ransack the house. Goku eliminates them both, surprising both Suno and her mother. To complicate matters, the Jingle Village Chief has been kidnapped and is now being held hostage in Muscle Tower, a large castle in the middle of the icy tundra. Goku volunteers to rescue the village chief and pummels a few soldiers before using his Power Pole to climb his way up to the entrance of the tower. The head of Muscle Tower is General White and he has some tough defenses Goku will have to go through. Goku swiftly and easily gets through the first defense (a few Red Ribbon soldiers armed with knives and what not) but the second floor guard is another story. An enormous, hulking brute named Major Metallitron (who appears to be drawn to resemble Arnold Schwarzenegger) sits waiting for his target. As Goku climbs to face him, he soon learns that this is no ordinary opponent and even remarks that he should have participated in the World Martial Arts Tournament because of his tremendous strength to withstand Goku's attacks. However, after being pummeled, the hulking Major unleashes a huge missile from his mouth and after homing in on Goku with his target-locking mechanism, we find out that he is a mechanized robot. He proceeds to try and crush Goku in a tight grip, although Goku manages to free himself and fight back with numerous attacks. Even after Goku blasts him with an enormous Kamehameha, shredding off his head and leaving him for dead, the deadly robotic behemoth fights back with a decapitated body. He gives Goku a lot of trouble and what actually saves Goku is the robot's own programming and batteries, which die out after a while. This leaves Major Metallitron malfunctioning and immobile. Goku proceeds to the next floor, further enraging the already angered General White. Next, Goku faces the deadly Ninja Murasaki, who carries the full rank and title of Sergeant Major Purple. Murasaki proceeds to whisper to him but does not reveal his location, throwing deadly shards and shuriken at Goku. He even tries to sink underwater and hold his breath to throw Goku off of his location, but Goku manages to locate him no matter what he does. Goku also manages to match his speed in order to prove to him that he is beaten. After Goku continues to make a fool out of Murasaki, the ninja splits, summoning his four brothers from within to aid him in his battle. All have different weapons, ranging from katanas and blades but the combination still failed to conquer the mighty Goku. As a last resort, Ninja Murasaki decided to unleash Android 8 from his cage. We then find out that Android 8 hates violence and will not obey his orders; after Goku disposes of Ninja Murasaki, Goku and Eighter (the nickname Goku gives Android 8) get to the top of Muscle Tower but General White opens up a trap door, sending them falling back down into a dungeon. However, Goku and Android 8 are not alone in the dark room. The monster Buyon shows himself. After Goku tries numerous maneuvers against the monster, he finds it impenetrable to normal attack. Any blasts he sends at the monster bounce right off his gelatinous skin. Goku thinks of another plan in order to overcome the beast. Buyon tries to swallow Android 8, but Goku stops him. He then cracks the wall and lets the icy air rush in. Goku hides in Android 8's jacket as Buyon freezes. Goku then jumps out and gives him a kick, causing Buyon to crack and eventually shatter. Fall of Muscle Tower and Aftermath The threat was not over when Goku and Android 8 walk back up. General White shows his muscles before being knocked away by Goku. However, White takes advantage of Goku's weakness by grabbing his tail and rendering him helpless. He then proceeds to spin him around the room before tossing him aside like a ragdoll. Goku gets back up, angrier than ever, and pummels General White. As a last resort, General White grabs the village chief as a prisoner and puts a gun to his head, threatening to execute him. He then requests that Goku turn around. Goku, as naive as he is, listens. After Goku turns his back, General White shoots him in the head. After a direct bullet to the head, Goku falls over. Android 8 now becomes enraged and walks towards General White, who proceeds to empty his weapon into Android 8. Android 8 then musters up enough courage and punches the fearful General White so hard that he is painfully smashed straight out of Muscle Tower's brick wall and into the sky, never to be seen again. Goku (totally fine after a bullet to the head, as usual), Android 8, and the village chief get out of Muscle Tower and then Android 8 completely smashes the tower to the ground. Android 8 gives Goku a Dragon Ball that he had found and had kept with him. He is welcomed to stay in the village but says there is a bomb inside him which may explode and does not want to pose a threat to the village. It is then decided that he should go see Dr. Flappe, a scientist who may be able to help him. Goku also decides to go in order to fix his newly busted Dragon Radar, which will help him find the remainder of the Dragon Balls. Suno also joins them as they walk through the cold environment to Dr. Flappe's cabin. However, they are unaware that they are being pursued by Ninja Murasaki, who has survived the fall of Muscle Tower. We later learn that Dr. Flappe helped create Android 8 for the Red Ribbon Army. As Ninja Murasaki makes his presence known, he tries to steal Goku's Dragon Balls and runs off on a turbo jet ski. Goku chases him up an icy mountain and shoots a Kamehameha, starting an avalanche which Ninja Murasaki gets trapped in. Dr. Flappe removes the bomb from Android 8 but says he can not fix Goku's Dragon Radar. Goku tosses the bomb into the sky and it accidentally lands right on an unsuspecting Ninja Murasaki, killing him. Hiring Hasky With a bit of luck, Goku learns that his Flying Nimbus has not been destroyed and calls it back. Goku then leaves for West City to find Bulma, who should be able to fix the broken Dragon Radar. At first Goku does not know his way around and asked for a taxi without having money. He earn 100,000 zeni by defeating a a fighter who challenges people to a street fight. He gives the money to a woman in exchange telling where he can find a policeman (due to the misunderstanding in regards to asking for a taxi, he believed that he had to pay people to get information). The police officer helps him find Capsule Corporation, which is Bulma's current residence. Bulma has found a way to ride the Flying Nimbus by shrinking herself with a Micro Band she invented and having Goku put her in his shirt. After fixing the radar, they fly around on the Nimbus and go to Dream Land, a new amusement park where Yamcha, Oolong and Puar can also be found. But trouble arrives in the form of Hasky, a thief who has been hired by the Red Ribbon Army to steal Goku's Dragon Balls. Hasky tries to trick Yamcha in order to steal the Dragon Balls and almost succeeds before being tracked down by Goku. She places a bomb in the amusement park but Goku defuses it and foils Hasky's plan. After that, Goku and Bulma ride on the Flying Nimbus into the sunset to find the remaining Dragon Balls. General Blue's Mission Bulma and Goku searched for the nearest Dragon Ball, which happens to be located in the ocean. Unfortunately, the Red Ribbon Army is still searching for the Dragon Balls, as well as targeting them. General Blue, the handsome and highly elite leader of the Blue Squad on an island outpost, receives word from Commander Red that he is to retrieve the Dragon Balls. He is also notified of the previous failure of both Colonel Silver and General White in completing this mission. After receiving his transmission from Commander Red, he calls for a meeting, where hundreds of soldiers line up and he expresses his loyalty to the Red Ribbon Army by speaking to his men. After his speech, he revels in his self-love with a bouquet of roses. General Blue's love for discipline is also greatly illustrated as he has numerous soldiers executed for failing to follow orders or proving inadequate in successfully handling the situation. Meanwhile, Goku briefly leaves Bulma behind so he can dive underwater to find the Dragon Ball. However, he has to surface after he realizes that its down far too deep for him to get without drowning. Meanwhile, Bulma takes the opportunity to shop in a nearby settlement, although she is ambushed by two Red Ribbon Army soldiers, who wanted to have "fun" with her. She quickly deduced that the "fun" they wanted to have with her was actually sex, and attempts to flee when it became apparent that they will not take "no" for an answer. Goku then managed to eliminate the soldiers, saving Bulma. General Blue witnessed Goku's actions from afar, and was shocked at the realization of Goku's abilities, but vowed to himself that he would not fail. The next Dragon Ball is located somewhere underwater and can only be accessed using a submarine. They borrow a submarine from Master Roshi (in exchange for the Bulma's Micro Band which Master Roshi intended to use to spy on Launch in the bathroom). They are later joined by Krillin. After leaving Master Roshi and Launch on the island and resuming their initial plan to obtain the Dragon Balls, they meet unexpected trouble along the way. Roshi then explains to them the legend of the Pirates Treasure, to which Bulma and Goku deduce that the Dragon Ball is most likely within the Pirate's cave. However, the Red Ribbon Army gets wind of the Dragon Ball's location, and they send General Blue to fetch the Dragon Ball. The Red Ribbon Army also learn of the Goku's relation to Master Roshi, whom they believe to be an old scientist who invented Goku's Dragon Radar. Once the Red Ribbon Army confirmed the location of Kame House, General Blue sends a group of soldiers, Company B, to dispose of Launch and Turtle and capture Master Roshi so he could work as a scientist for them. The first to confront them was Captain Dark, who was armed with a whip. The conceited captain begins by threatening Master Roshi. However, Master Roshi is fully aware of his abilities and disposes of the captain with a punch to the chest and then subdues his men with the help of an enraged Launch. Unfortunately, the enraged stated reverts before she can kill the last soldier, resulting in the terrified soldier, who had seen enough, to take Launch as hostage and demands that Master Roshi do as he says. Master Roshi, only concerned for Launch's safety, agrees to follow whatever the army wants. Turtle, thinking fast, waves a palm leaf in front of Launch's nose while she was in a headlock, causing her to revert into her enraged alter ego. She easily takes care of her captor and sends him packing. Master Roshi decided to be merciful and let the soldier live. Underwater Hunt Goku and his friends use the submarine to enter an underwater cave. They are quickly followed by a larger submarine commandeered by General Blue and his men who proceed to attack with missiles and torpedoes. Under attack, Goku and friends reach the end of the underwater cave which opens up to a hidden underwater pirate base. They quickly abandon their submarine and run off. General Blue, already well aware of Colonel Silver's and General White's prior defeat, is determined not to underestimate his foes. This is not to say that General Blue does not overestimate his own abilities and chances for success. General Blue orders his men to chase after Goku and his friends, who are confronted with a booby trap. It is activated whenever someone steps on the sensitive floors, resulting in spears to be shot across the wall. To beat the trap, Goku and Krillin leap over the sensitive part of the floor, which is covered with black switches. Goku uses his Power Pole in order to help Bulma come across. General Blue's soldiers, however, are not so lucky, being killed by the trap, and causing Blue to reluctantly see what happened to his men. Blue then uses a secret passage. While using the secret passage to bypass the trap, General Blue comes across a deadly and enormous electric eel, which wraps itself around him and electrocutes him. Surprisingly, General Blue eliminates the eel by squeezing it to death in his bare hands. Apparently, his powers are well above superhuman and he will not brought down so easily. The adventure continues and forces Goku and his friends into battling a homicidal Pirate Robot in the pirate's abandoned hideout, while having to deal with a stalking General Blue. Blue was frightened by the robot, but Goku and his friends manage to defeat the robot, with Blue, despite viewing him as his enemy, gaining a slight bit of respect for Goku's abilities. Blue then tricks Goku by altering an arrow that Bulma made to tell Goku where she and Krillin were headed, and then pursues them, although he was reluctant to get into the water, as he apparently forgot to bring his bikini trunks with him. While Goku attempted to track down Bulma and Krillin due to General Blue's deception, Goku then comes across a huge octopus, which he is forced to eliminate. Once Krillin and Bulma sink underwater and come back out into a secret underground pirate compound full of treasure, they also stumble upon a Dragon Ball. General Blue arrives and declares that the Dragon Ball be handed over to him, as well as desiring the treasure for the Red Ribbon Army. Intimidated by his appearance, Bulma attempts to seduce General Blue, only to find that he is not attracted to females. A disciplined and militant man, General Blue accepts Krillin's challenge. A battle ensues, and Krillin is initially able to wound Blue enough to give him a nosebleed, but he is defeated after General Blue unleashes his telekinetic ability as revenge for the earlier wound, rendering his opponent helpless by freezing their muscles. Goku vs. General Blue Goku arrives just when General Blue was about to eradicate Krillin by crushing his head with a rock. Goku and General Blue fight, with Goku getting in a few hits. General Blue becomes so enraged, he pumps up his body. General Blue emerges the victor thanks to his ability to paralyze his opponents with his telekinesis. Although initially opting to for a slow and painful death for Goku via an unrestrained beatdown, the imminent collapse of the cave forced him to do an "abridged version" by shooting him at point-blank range with a shotgun, ultimately deducing with Bulma's help regarding the location of the Dragon Ball. However, just as General Blue is about to finish Goku off with a shotgun blast to his face, a mouse runs by. General Blue, who is disgusted of rodents, screams and breaks the spell of telekinesis, allowing Goku to defeat him with a quick strike. The undersea cave collapses, and Bulma, Krillin, and Goku narrowly escape the crumbling cave. General Blue is left in amazement at all the riches around him before the cave falls around him. Although he is wounded, Blue makes it out of the cave, putting his superhuman survival skills to good use. Eventually, Goku gets the Dragon Ball, albeit it was the Three-Star Ball and not the Four-Star Ball. Realizing that Goku will not stop looking for the Dragon Balls until he finds his grandfather's keepsake, Bulma angrily suggests to him that she will never ever help him out again since Goku never told her and Krillin about the Red Ribbon Army. General Blue, who was left for dead, recovers, and comes out of the sea in order to track down Goku's location. A soldier who tried to hide from Goku, Krillin, and Bulma sighs in relief, only to be met with a not-so-forgiving General Blue, who proceeds to execute him for showing fear of his enemies and for sleeping on the job. He then proceeds to jump out of a plane in midair and secretly land on Master Roshi's island. General Blue then takes a piece of rope and controls it with his telekinesis, making the rope entangle Goku, Krillin, Bulma, and Master Roshi. He then leaves a ticking bomb and bids the heroes farewell in German, "auf wiedersehen". He steals their Dragon Balls and then proceeds to take off in a jet. Penguin Village Launch arrives in the nick of time and cuts Goku loose from the rope. Goku takes the bomb and tosses it into the sky, barely avoiding its destructive explosion by seconds. Goku then rapidly follows General Blue in midair and causes him to crash in a very strange place known as Penguin Village. General Blue comes across Sour Man, who seems to think highly of himself. General Blue tells him he needs his vehicle. Sour Man dons his superhero suit but is quickly terrified of General Blue once the militant elite crushes an entire phone booth with his bare hands. General Blue proceeds to hijack Sour Man's vehicle and drive towards his destination. The town's entire police unit think that they are being attacked by aliens. After Blue's hijacked car has engine problems, a small boy named Obotchaman comes running across the highway and helps General Blue fix his stolen vehicle. General Blue automatically finds the young one attractive. Obotchaman then runs off, having done his helpful duty. General Blue proceeds along the highway until he comes across Arale's village. However, he is stopped by the Penguin Village police, as he left his identification back at the collapsed cave and thus was illegally driving. However, he knocks the weapons away and demonstrates his strength by punching his stolen car, damaging it in the process, causing him to steal one of the Police officer's cars. After both General Blue and Goku meet the island's inhabitants (including Arale Norimaki), the two have a showdown at Dr. Slump's house (real name, Senbei Norimaki). General Blue manages to get the upper hand by using his telekinesis on Goku once again and nearly kills Goku, but Arale Norimaki saves him by headbutting General Blue and sends him flying into the air. After General Blue lands, he has obtained Goku's original Dragon Radar but has lost the Dragon Balls. He is seen calling from an Egypt-like land to report temporary failure to Red Ribbon Army Headquarters. He is then seen riding away on a camel with an umbrella under the extreme heat of the desert, as well as complaining about the heat ruining his hair. After Turbo Norimaki makes a new Dragon Radar, Goku thanks this strange family and continues his quest. Korin Tower Meanwhile, a platoon of Red Ribbon soldiers under the command of Captain Yellow was searching for a Dragon Ball that is currently inside a volcano in the Sacred Land of Korin. The volcano explodes and sends the Dragon Ball (the four-star ball) into the camp of the land's protectors. Living here is Upa and his father Bora. The Red Ribbon Army follows the ball into the camp and demands it be handed over. Upa's father proceeds to eliminate them and the last remaining soldier (Captain Yellow) radios back to the Headquarters. Commander Red hollers at him and he comes back. In desperation, he abducts Upa to get ransom for the ball, but he does not count on Goku showing up. Goku beats him and rescues Upa, killing Captain Yellow in the process by punching him out of his plane. As a token of thanks, Goku is given the Four-Star ball, his Grandpa Gohan's ball. At the same time, General Blue is returning to the Red Ribbon Army Headquarters, while Commander Red is in the process of hiring Mercenary Tao. General Blue walks in on them and seeing him Dragon Ball-less, Red makes him fight Mercenary Tao to redeem himself (and see if it is really Mercenary Tao, not some imposter). The fight is quick, with none of Blue's attacks having any effect. It ends with Tao using his tongue to strike Blue's temple and kill him. Satisfied, Commander Red hires him to kill Goku and retrieve the Dragon Balls. Mercenary Tao then cuts out a piece of a column and uses it as a ride to the Land of Korin. When Mercenary Tao arrives, Upa's father jumps in to protect Goku but is killed by Mercenary Tao with his own spear. Angry, Goku challenges Mercenary Tao and gets slapped around for a while. He tries his Kamehameha, but all it does is destroy Mercenary Tao's clothes. Mercenary Tao retaliates with his Dodon Ray, which knocks Goku out, yet Mercenary Tao thinks he killed him (the four-star ball Goku got earlier was in his shirt and absorbed most of the blast). Mercenary Tao takes the other balls and leaves to get a new robe. When Mercenary Tao arrives at a tailor, he gives the man three days to make a new one or Mercenary Tao will kill him. He then checks into a hotel and calls the Red Ribbon Headquarters. Red informs him of the missing ball and Mercenary Tao tells him he will get it back in three days (when his new robe is done). Back in the Land of Korin, Goku awakes before Upa buries him. During their talk, Goku learns of the legend of the Korin Tower. The legend is that anyone who can climb to the top will be given Sacred Water that will greatly increase their power. This is perfect for Goku, who needs the strength to defeat Mercenary Tao. Goku vows to use the Dragon Balls to bring Upa's father back to life and begins his ascent up the Tower. He reaches the top after a very long climb and meets Korin, who turns out to be a short, fat, talking cat. Before Goku can explain his situation, Korin reads his mind and understands why Goku is after the water. He'll give Goku the water on one condition: that Goku get it from Korin. Goku tries to retrieve the water, but Korin is too fast for him and dodges him easily. Feeling defeated, Goku is told that Master Roshi was the last one to get the water from Korin, over three hundred years ago. Not only that, but it took Master Roshi three years to do it. The two of them retire for the night and we see a Senzu Bean for the first time when Korin gives one to Goku to restore his energy. He then throws Goku's four-star ball out of the tower and Goku jumps out after it. He gets to the bottom and retrieves the ball, then climbs all the way back up the tower again, in much quicker time. The next day, Goku once again fails in retrieving the water, even after getting Korin's advice. It is on the third day that Goku gets the water, only when it fell off of Korin's staff and nearly to the ground. Goku dove out and caught it, using his tail to keep from falling. He drinks the water and finds out that it is just tap water and the power comes from the training. Satisfied, Goku thanks Korin and leaves. Tao finally gets his new robe and comes back to finish off the job, only this time it is Goku who is beating Mercenary Tao! He tries his trump card, the Dodon Ray, but Goku is able to block it. Boasting, Goku tells Mercenary Tao of his strength from Korin Tower and Mercenary Tao immediately rushes up the tower to get the power for himself. He reaches the top and gets the water. Korin manages to fool him with some magic and Mercenary Tao returns to finish the fight, thinking himself stronger now. When he gets back, he is giving Goku all he can give and appears to be winning. That is, until Goku shows him that he was not being serious. Goku then proceeds to beat up Mercenary Tao, who fakes a surrender to trick Goku. During this fake surrender, he tosses a grenade at Goku and hops up to avoid the blast. Goku, thinking fast, kicks the grenade up to Mercenary Tao, where it explodes and presumably kills him (however he is later shown to be alive). Gathering up the rest of the Dragon Balls, Goku now heads to Red Ribbon Headquarters to get the other two balls. Goku vs. The Red Ribbon Army Colonel Violet, the only female high-ranking officer in the Red Ribbon Army, managed to deliver the seven star Dragon Ball and supplied it to Commander Red in exchange for a monetary reward. Around the same time, Bulma builds a flying camera to follow Goku, when she learns that he is going straight after the Red Ribbon Army. Worried about him, Bulma makes a phone (on Turtle's advice) and calls Yamcha, Puar, and Oolong. Yamcha arrives by plane and takes the rest of the crew to save Goku. However, Bulma is still mad at Yamcha for what happened earlier with Hasky. Goku meanwhile is passing right by the Red Ribbon Army's security system, because they think he is Mercenary Tao coming back. By the time they figure out it is him, it is too late. Goku hops off his Flying Nimbus and rips the Red Ribbon Army apart with ease, with Commander Red blaming Staff Officer Black for not training his professional soldiers properly as they are being decimated by a single child, as well as ordering the retreating personnel from evacuating by claiming that it is not a democracy. He fights his way to Commander Red, who leaves his assistant to fight Goku. During their fight however, Commander Red drops the ceiling on both of them. Thinking them dead, Commander Red reveals his ultimate wish for the Dragon Balls: to become taller. Staff Officer Black (who was not killed by the ceiling) comes back and tells Commander Red off upon learning of the true wish, citing that it was a selfish wish that not only had absolutely nothing to do with the Red Ribbon Army, but it is also going to result in the death of the Red Ribbon Army as well. Commander Red ignores this, stating that his wish will make himself as well as the Red Ribbon Army huge, and states that he was sick of his genius being confined to a miniscule body. Black then denounces that Red has absolutely no concept of loyalty, willing to sell him out to satisfy his own vanity, to which Red then accuses him of being jealous that he has no "commander" in front of his name, and admits that the reason for that is because he only views Black as a lacky, an errand boy, and states that he is pathetic in his age. Black, outraged from this final straw, kills Commander Red by shooting him clean in the head, and promotes himself to Commander, vowing to take the Red Ribbon Army to a glorious age, with the first step being world domination. The still-alive Goku also appears, and the newly christened Commander Black offers Goku a spot in his army, but Goku refuses, and they do battle once again. After some fighting, Black decides to enter his special robot suit and fight Goku this way. However, Goku is still a challenge to Black, to which Black eventually snaps and tries to destroy Goku with a missile, threatening his staff in the process. Goku then kicks the missile away. Black attempts to retreat, but Goku does not allow him to escape. Goku then uses Penetrate! and defeats Staff Officer Black, who even after using a special robot suit could not win. Following this, the rest of the Red Ribbon Army flees the headquarters and presumably disbands. Goku collects the two Dragon Balls and starts to leave when Bulma and crew show up. They are amazed at his ability and happy he is safe. The problem though is that the Dragon Radar is not picking up the last Dragon Ball. They return to Kame House where Bulma could hopefully fix it though discover it is working properly. Aftermath The conclusion of the Red Ribbon Army War resulted in the dismantling of the Red Ribbon Army. Mercenary Tao ultimately survived his encounter with Goku, although with significant enough injuries to require his conversion into a cyborg. His brother Master Shen attempted to avenge Tao's fall by having Tien Shinhan fight and kill Goku in the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament, although Tien decided against killing him when Crane Hermit attempted to cheat to ensure Goku died. The Red Ribbon Army, as well as the conflict, was eventually forgotten as time passed by all but those directly involved in the conflict. The head scientist Dr. Gero ended up escaping in the chaos of Goku's attack on its main headquarters and proceeded to create androids specifically designed to target Goku for assassination as revenge for the Red Ribbon Army's fall, as well as made plans to dominate the world with his robotic creations. These actions had dire consequences for multiple timelines: one where two of his Androids, Android 17 and Android 18, decimated a large percentage of Earth's population, and the main timeline where Gero's ultimate creation Cell killed a large percentage of people when absorbing their energy and attempted to destroy the world. Master Roshi eventually relayed the events of the conflict to Maron when she inquired Krillin's status during the Android conflict in the main timeline. The Red Ribbon Army experienced a revival of sorts when Dr. Gero and the Machine Mutant scientist Dr. Myuu opened a portal gateway between Earth and the Other World to fuse Android 17 (whom they had remotely brainwashed) with a hybrid machine mutant/cyborg known as Hell Fighter 17 in order to create the ultimate android, Super 17. Most of the Red Ribbon officers, including General Blue, Captain Yellow, and Staff Officer Black, were defeated by Pan, the granddaughter of Goku. Films The Dragon Ball movie The Path to Power retells the Red Ribbon Army war. References Site Navigation Category:Red Ribbon Army Category:Wars Category:Dragon Ball Category:Red Ribbon Army Saga